Timeless Tom Baker makes return trip to Doctor Who

Though 11 actors have now played the lead role in Doctor Who, most sci-fi fans over 30 have only one image in mind when considering The Doctor: a tall, wide-eyed man with a mop of dark, curly hair and a toothy smile that seems to pop up at the least-appropriate times. He wears a mismatched outfit, a wide-brimmed hat and a foolishly long, multicoloured scarf.

That's the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, who propelled the long-running show to its highest ratings in the 1970s. Now he's finally returning to the show's universe after almost 30 years in a Who-less void.

Baker stars in Doctor Who: Hornet's Nest, a five-part adventure series for BBC audio dramas. The first episode, The Stuff of Nightmares, has been released today in the UK, with subsequent episodes arriving onOctober 8 (The Dead Shoes) and November 5 (The Circus of Doom). The final two parts (A Sting in the Tale and Hive of Horror) arrive on December 3.

Baker took a few moments following the recording of all five episodes to tell Wired about the experience of coming back to the role and the character who made him a legend. Fans have been calling for his return for years, and something about Hornet's Nest's mix of material and co-stars made it happen now.

"The BBC caught me at a good moment," Baker said. "Part of the bait was dear Nicholas Courtney, who was to play the Brigadier. Unfortunately, he was unwell and had to be replaced before recording. So I carried on and pretended Nick was there."

With Courtney out of the picture, Richard Franklin stepped in to play Captain Mike Yates, the Brigadier's one-time right-hand man. Baker said Franklin filled in just fine as someone to whom The Doctor could tell his tales.

While lost in the rigours of recording, Baker never heard the statements made by outgoing, 21st-century Doctor Who producer Russell T. Davies. When asked about how he cast David Tennant, Davies admitted looking to Baker for inspiration.

"Tom Baker and The Doctor was the single best marriage of an actor to a role in TV history," Davies said.

Baker had no problem getting on board with that sentiment.

"I often agree with Russell," he said. "He is spot-on. Playing the role is easier than putting on an old pair of boots. I said that I never stopped being Doctor Who – not when I walked off the set every day in the 70s and not since I left the show. I said 'never' and I mean it.

"How could I stop? The Doctor was just Tom Baker. No acting. So, when it came time to record [Doctor Who: Hornet's Nest], I just dropped into the studio and picked up the script and away we went. Just like the old days."

Meanwhile, his exciting return to the role may continue as Baker made it clear he'd consider returning once again to audio adventures in the near future.